Butterfly bush and milkweed update

It's getting deeper into May so what's going on with my bush and any milkweed you may ask...

For the butterfly bush, nothing right now.  From what I've read, it can be late May or June before signs of life appear.  I have learned new growth most often comes from the root.  On established bushes, experts advise cutting them way back.  They have "die back", so they will appear dead and then take off.  I am prepared for mine NOT to take off.  So the branches look dead which I've learned is normal but I've included a picture of the roots before and after I added more dirt.  It appears some of the dirt I buried it with last year washed away or the ground heaved a bit and exposed some of the root system.  So the jury is still out...

 

Before more dirt added

I threw a bit more dirt at the base...

 

 

So onto the milkweed front.  I have been faithfully planting seeds since fall of 2013 in hopes at least one plant would make it.  Last fall I just threw seeds out by hand and didn't even plant any.  Last year I noticed a plant that appeared to be milkweed but not Common milkweed that I was planting.  I have learned it can take until year three for a plant to flower.  I caged off that plant and this year it is really taking off and appears to be ready to flower this season.  I find it funny that the plant that is finally coming up may not be one I planted.  I asked God for one plant and I have it.  The leaves are narrower and the stem/base appeared different than a Common milkweed plant.  But they may change as they mature.  The big test and reveal will come this summer if/when it flowers.  I have suspected it to be a Swamp milkweed plant but the location may not make sense for that type.  Butterfly milkweed are also found in Iowa and have narrow leaves.  Expect many updates.  The next order of business is to make my cage taller to keep the deer out of it.

  

Here are pictures from the last few weeks...

 

 

The first snow of 2015

I think we got about 6.5 inches overnight.  You can see it was the type of snow to stick to everything.  Shoveling this morning I found out it was wet and heavy underneath.

Here is the beginning of the storm yesterday afternoon...

 

 Here is what it looked like at bedtime.  You can see it completely covered the fence (yes, Russ got caught)...

 

 

And here is what it looked like this morning and this afternoon...

 

 

And I need to sneak in a photo of my butterfly bush...

 

My bush is still blooming

This is a post for my dear mother-in-law Ruth.  It may be October 21, but "our" bush is still open for business.  I will expand my chicken wire in the spring to allow for growth.

 

If you look from the top, there are as many as four blooms still with color.

 

Fall color

Does this purple count as a "fall color"?  This is a picture taken today.  I would say it's a good sign heading into winter.

Eating Around the Bush

Saturday afternoon Russ sounded the alarm and I saw a doe and her two youngsters.  You can imagine with them right at the fence he was on high alert.  I literally have to remove him from the back bedroom to muffle the barking so I can get some decent pictures.

Here they are...

 

Just a nice Saturday afternoon to munch on anything green...

 

 

I was watching mom as she worked around my butterfly bush but she left it alone...

 

 

Here are a few more pictures of the mother...

 

 

And the youngsters...

 

Getting close to my bush



This one had to scratch

Butterfly bush seems to be taking hold

We've been getting enough rain that I've let nature handle that chore.  Still have blooms and new shoots as of yesterday.

Two days later

Don't worry, I won't be giving you daily updates but the color caught my eye today.  This is the same shoot as the previous post.  So two days later this is the change I've seen...

 

And here is two days ago for comparison...

 

Late bloomer

Butterfly bushes bloom in the summer and technically it's still summer but I wasn't sure what I would see the remainder of the year.

Well, it looks like the bush is taking hold and we've certainly had enough rain to help it along. 

 Here's a photo of a new "shoot" or "bud" from today...

 

You can see it compared to the old ones.  It's looking good Ruth!

Bush update

It's been over a week since I planted my butterfly bush.  We've had some rain which is helpful.  I wasn't expecting the blooms to last.  I was more hoping the leaves would look healthy.  Upon inspection this morning, all looks well and I think I seeing some new buds/blooms starting.

 

I see the words "blooms", "buds" and "shoots" used so not sure which to use but most look like this...(look closely in the background...looks like a new bud)

 

 

Here is my encouragement...looks like new growth...

 

I got a butterfly bush for my birthday!

Faithful reader and wonderful mother-in-law Ruth surprised me with a butterfly bush for my birthday.  She knew I was bound and determined to attract butterflies and she thought this would help.

It's a Black Knight butterfly bush which will result in purplish blooms.  We debated on putting it in the yard but are always worried what Russ will get into plus he seems scared of bees.  And we decided not to put near our front porch for the same reason...didn't want to attract bees.

I have longed wanted a splash of color beyond our back fence and this fits in nicely.  Plus, that is where the action is for hummingbirds and butterflies.

Fern was nice to offer some of here chicken wire/netting to protect the bush from critters.  So I thought I better get it into the ground.

Here is the bush a few days ago.  The blooms looked a little dry from the trip to Des Moines and my wait in getting it outside.

 

I watered the bush and I'm going to build on this promising sight...

 

 



I went out last night with my wagon of tools, wire, stakes, zip ties...whatever I thought I needed. 

 

 

 I cleared an area with an L-shaped weed whip.

 

 

While I was out there, I put a quick protector around my sole milkweed plant...

 

Ready to plant...

 

In the ground (hard to see)...

 

 

First piece of wire (I used stakes from an old volleyball set to hold down)...

 

Here is a picture looking over the top of the bush back at our house to give you an idea of placement...

 

 



Close-up of a healthy bloom...

 

Here is the bush with a 2nd "layer" of wire...

 

 

Here is a view of the finished project from the house...

 

 

Another shot from this morning...

 

And one more of my milkweed cage...

 

Thank you Ruth!  And yes, you will see updates in the future...